To Stand or Not To Stand

We have all seen things in the world that we won’t stand for, like a child being picked on or a customer treating a worker rudely. Colin Kaepernick has recently been a major player in controversy after refusing to stand up during the national anthem.

According to NFL Media, Kaepernick stated in an exclusive interview “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

And he also stated, “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

This caused a huge uproar throughout the United States, but just like with every other controversial topic there are two sides.

There are people who think that what he is doing isn’t bad. That he is completely in his rights to protest against something that he believes. He is trying to call attention to something that has been going on for a long time, but it’s something that no one wants to talk about.

Since he did this he is getting people to talk, but at the same time he isn’t really helping the cause. Although he is bringing attention to the topic, he isn’t being someone who is informing people on both sides of the matter. He is only showing one side.

I think since he started this he should be someone who will try to bring people together instead of bring about more fights.

There are also people who think that what he is doing is wrong. They think that since he is living in this country he should respect it and the people who serve and protect it.

But then a question needs to be asked: if you live in this country and you see something that you don’t like should you be quiet just because you’re in the United States? As we have seen throughout history, many things that are now considered wrong were once seen as okay just because society said so and people didn’t speak up.

You can choose from a number of topics from women’s rights to the treatment of mental health patients. Change won’t come around if people are always afraid to cause disturbance and deal with hateful words.

It isn’t up to me to tell you what to believe in or what to think. All I want to do is show you the two sides of this story, so that you know that there is more than one way to see things – to see not only your point of view, but every point of view. The more informed you are, the more educated you are, the more we can understand one another.